Organic Chemistry
by pachysandra
Summary: [modern day college AU] Levi was so busy worrying about his drunken one-night stand and STDs that he didn't notice the mischievous glint in Hanji's eyes. That was Mistake Number One. Mistake Number Two was falling for a god damn 19-year-old that also happened to be his new co-worker at the university. — "Fuck you." "Already did, man. Last night."
1. Does he have any STDs?

**Chapter 1:**

**Does he have any STDs?**

—

"Vodka shots. Keep them coming," Eren said as he took a seat at the bar, pulling off his jacket and letting out a deep breath. Hanji raised her eyebrows at him.

"You don't even like drinking. Besides, you're—"

"I really need vodka right now, Hanji. Like, really," he pleaded. She shrugged carelessly and poured him a drink.

"You want to talk about it?"

"No. I want to get drunk and make out and pass out," he said after he downed his drink.

"There, there," she comforted as she patted his head.

"More," he demanded, coughing as the alcohol slightly burned his throat. He hated drinking, god damn it, but he needed something to get over the conversation he had just had with his dipshit of a father.

After he downed his second shot, he started to get lost in the clamor and bustle of the bar; he could feel the beat of the music beating against his skull, and the lights were coloring his vision, and he downed another shot. Hanji was too busy on the job to take care of him, and so Eren left his seat stumbling and eager to forget about fathers and feelings.

He looked around the crowded room, head spinning a little, and he almost tripped on the first step he took.

"You okay, kid?" someone said as Eren struggled to catch himself.

"I'm not a kid!" Eren said, disoriented and overly-defensive. _"You're just a kid, Eren,"_ his father had said to him.

"You sure look like one to me. Who gets drunk after two shots?" said Levi, scoffing and irritated at the kid's rudeness. Eren narrowed his eyes at him. Short—that was the first thing that came to mind as Eren looked at him. He had black hair and an undercut, and incredibly sharp eyes that were currently glazed over in drunkenness as well.

"You're drunk too, dipshit," Eren bit back.

"Yeah, after my—"

The stranger's retort was cut off by Eren clutching the front of his shirt and crashing their lips together.

"Just shut up and kiss me," Eren said after they pulled apart.

"You're such a brat," Levi said as he kissed him anyway. When he felt Eren's tongue swiping his bottom lip, he dragged him out of the bar into the cold night air. His back against the wall, Eren started working at Levi's neck, sucking and biting.

"Fuck," Levi said as he felt the temptation to take this to his apartment. He would normally never do something so reckless—taking a stranger to his apartment and showing him where he lived and having one-night stands with boys who may or may not have STDs—but Eren's hard kisses and the alcohol destroyed his judgement.

—

So when he woke up in his apartment, groaning at the sight of harsh sunlight and one naked boy sprawled out next to him, he promised to never get drunk again. He kicked the boy lightly in the ribs.

"Get up," he said.

"Mmmm," the boy mumbled as he just rolled over to his side, eyes still closed. Levi pushed him over the edge of the bed with his foot and Eren fell to the floor with a yelp.

"What the fuck?" Eren exclaimed. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, glancing over at Levi, who was naked but covered with sheets. "Oh," he said as he realized the situation. "Wow."

"Don't 'wow' me. Put on your damn pants and get out." Eren rolled his eyes at this and grabbed the pair of jeans he had so carelessly discarded the night before. When he finished getting dressed, Levi practically pushed him out the door.

"That's no way to treat a one-night stand," Eren said teasingly, not taking Levi's attitude too personally. He got a kick out of the irritation on Levi's face.

"Fuck you," Levi said as Eren was almost out the door.

"Already did, man. Last night."

Levi shut the door in his face. Turning around, Levi let out an annoyed, heavy sigh, trying not to think about the fact that not only did he sleep with a random stranger ("STD" kept ringing in his head), but said stranger looked about 10 years younger than him. The boy was, at the youngest, 21, since he was drinking at the bar. He hoped to god the boy was older than that, though, because sleeping with a bright-eyed 21-year-old when Levi was approaching 30 felt juvenile and mid-life crisis-y.

Eren whistled as he walked down the hall, trying to remember the night he just had with that man. Memories of loud moans and shouts of _"Oh, god"_ filled his mind, and he bit his lip. Eren really hadn't planned on having sex last night—just making out or kissing a little. But one thing led to another, and there was something about the way anger and alcohol mixed with him that made him more promiscuous (one reason he normally didn't drink). He couldn't tell if it was a bad night or a good one, then. At the very least, he was definitely not thinking about his dipshit father anymore.

* * *

"Where were you last night?" Mikasa asked Eren, her brows furrowed. She looked him over for any scars or injuries. Mikasa, Eren, and Armin were sitting at a table outside of Café Maria, enjoying coffee drinks at noon. It was sunny and the breeze ruffled their hair. "I kept calling to see how you were doing after your talk with Grisha, and you never answered!"

Eren took a sip of his coffee and shrugged, not wanting to lie to her but not wanting to tell the truth either. Mikasa narrowed her eyes at him.

"Eren!" she said. He looked away.

"I just went to the bar and had a few drinks. That's all."

"You shouldn't be drinking. You're underage, and you know your alcohol tolerance is low," Mikasa said, still worried but relieved at the answer. Armin, however, noticed the way Eren licked his lips nervously and stared down at his drink.

"What else happened?" Armin said. Eren shot him a glare.

"Not much," he said. Armin just continued to look at him skeptically. "Okay, I got drunk and slept with some random guy. Happy?"

Mikasa's eyes widened and she said, "Did you go back to his apartment?"

"Yeah," Eren admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You know how dangerous that is," she said.

"I know, I know. But I'm fine—see?" Eren said.

"I suppose," Mikasa said with a sigh. "I hoped you used a condom, at least."

"Uh… I was pretty drunk," Eren said. Mikasa almost choked on her drink. "I know, I know: bad decision-making. I'll be more careful from now on."

"And tell Mikasa next time. You're giving her high blood pressure," Armin said with a laugh. Mikasa only frowned.

"So, how's school going?" Eren asked them, wanting to change the subject.

"Good. My English professor commended me on my last paper and it brought me up to an A in that class," Armin said with a grin. "Thanks for helping me edit it. I'm really feeling the perks of having an author for a friend."

Eren laughed. "No problem. What about you, Mikasa?"

"School is fine. I'm glad we'll be seeing you there now," Mikasa said. The three friends all smiled at each other, knowing that they would see each other even more for the next year. Eren had been invited by the prestigious Shiganshina University (where Armin and Mikasa attended) as a visiting scholar, and consequently he moved to an apartment in Shiganshina and was seeing Mikasa and Armin everyday. The city of Shiganshina was urban, definitely a college town, and Eren thought he would stay here even after he finished his one year at Shiganshina University.

"Yeah, being a guest lecturer will be fun. It's kind of ironic, though, getting invited two years later to lecture at a school I got rejected from."

"You did get a C in history, Eren. And physics," Armin said. Eren waved him off.

"But they want me now, don't they?" Eren said with mock arrogance.

"You did publish an critically-acclaimed book at 19," Mikasa pointed out. "You're still bad at history though."

"Speaking of your book," Armin said as he sipped his coffee, "some of my friends were fanning over it the other day. Jean let it slip that I knew you and they starting asking me if I could get you so sign their books. Is that okay?" Armin looked apologetic.

"Yeah, it's totally fine. I don't mind. I'll be at the university anyway; I probably would've run into them eventually."

"Thanks, Eren. They're huge fans. One of them—Connie—has this gigantic _Attack on Titan_ poster in his dorm room and once in a while they'll get into these heated debates about your book."

One of the defining features of _Attack on Titan_'s popularity was it's cult following with young adults—something somewhat rare nowadays with books that were also well-regarded with literary critics. It walked the line though—some argued that it was nothing more than a well-written fantasy young adult novel while others argued that it had literary merit and should be taken seriously in the literary world. Eren didn't really care, though, because "I get to make a living out of writing about man-eating giants and that's fucking awesome."

Eren grinned. Sometimes he still couldn't believe that people were reading his book, reading what he wrote.

"So how are your art classes going, Mikasa?" Armin asked. She had recently switched her major to studio art—what she had always wanted to major in—from pharmaceutical sciences—which she had chosen previously because she was good at it, it was a lucrative major, and they were poor. Now that Eren was making a generous living off of writing, he told her to pursue what she wanted to do, regardless of the money.

"Great," she said, and went on to talk about her art history and sculpting classes. She then asked Armin about his classes, and organic chemistry in particular, since that was his major. He groaned and laid his head on the table.

"It's bad enough that it's very difficult and grades are based on a curve, but the professor has really high standards. Don't get me wrong—he's great and the challenge is great—but I haven't gotten more than four hours of sleep a night for the last week."

"Oh, I've heard about that professor," Mikasa said. "He's notoriously abrasive and difficult," she explained to Eren.

"He said my last lab report was mediocre. Mediocre. I got a C—," Armin said with despair. This was a Big Deal, they could tell, because Armin was doing that thing where he chewed on his hair and tapped his foot. Armin never got less than a B on anything, and even those were somewhat rare and met with disappointment. (When he started getting a B in English, he immediately went into study-mode and even asked Eren for help.)

"I'm sure everyone else didn't do that great either if you didn't," Eren said, trying to comfort him. Armin's eyes narrowed.

"Most people got Ds and some got Fs," Armin said.

"Then what's wrong?" said Mikasa.

"Annie Leonhart," he said, eyes still narrowed.

"What about her?" said Eren.

"She got a B+ on that assignment," he said. Eren and Mikasa looked at each other; Armin's competitive side was coming out. Armin was the most level-headed among the three of them, and he was usually very reasonable and caring, but when it came to academics he hated to be beaten.

"You'll get a better score next time," Mikasa said, but Armin was still thinking about Annie Leonhart and her B+ and his C— and _how the heck is she getting an A in this class?_, and Eren and Mikasa knew that encouraging him was a lost cause for now.

—

Levi didn't want to ask Hanji, but when he walked into the clinic yesterday he saw Krista Lenz, one of his students, working there, and he turned back. So he had to ask Hanji. He entered her office and saw that she was reading something. Looking around, he felt disgusted at the stacks of papers and books littering the floor and tables. Tons of notes, pictures, and diagrams took up almost all the space on the walls. What a mess.

"Hanji," he said. She looked up from the papers on her desk.

"What is it, my dear boy?"

"That kid you were talking to at the bar the other night…"

"Oh, Eren? What about him?" Hanji said, a grin spreading across her lips. "You want his number?" Levi scowled at her. "I saw you two making out. You slept with him, didn't you? Don't act like you didn't."

Levi gritted his teeth. "I was drunk. Anyway, do you know if he has any STDs?" he said bluntly. There were no minced words or beating around the bush between these two.

Hanji started laughing loudly.

"Shut up."

She kept laughing and banging on the desk with her fist. Levi sighed and waited.

"Not that I know of," Hanji said once her laughter subsided. "I really doubt he has any STDs."

"Good," Levi said. "How do you know him, anyway?" he asked. His eyes widened. "He's not a student, is he?"

"No, he's not a student. He used to work at Café Maria." Hanji was so giddy with amusement about what was to come in about three days, when Eren was set to join the university. For a year. This was going to be great.

Her phone vibrated, and she checked her text messages.

**—EREN:** Hanji, can I come by and print out my work schedule later? I lost my hard copy and Erwin told me that professors have access to the schedules online.

Hanji blinked, pausing for a moment, then smiled.

**—HANJI:** Where are you?

**—EREN:** The coffee shop. Why?

**—HANJI:** I was just about to get coffee. I'll drop it off!

**—EREN:** Thank you!

She opened up her laptop and printed out Eren's schedule, then put away the papers and grabbed her bag. She turned to Levi and grinned.

"Levi, let's go out for coffee!"

"I just had coffee."

"Come on, I'll buy you a nice, hot drink."

"I'm staying behind to do some grading."

She waved it off. "Just give everyone a C and be done with it."

Levi scoffed. "That would be too generous."

"Hey, Krista Lenz said that she saw you at the clinic the other day."

"Let's go get coffee."

—

Levi met Eren's eyes as he approached Café Maria.

"Here's your schedule, Eren," Hanji said as she walked over to him and handed him papers.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

Hey, if anyone wants to help me out by sending me their experiences with college life, being an art major, or being a science major, that would be FANTASTIC :D I really don't know much about any of that stuff, so it would really help me. You can leave it in a review, send me a message here, or send me a message on tumblr (URL: skip-beats).

Thank you!


	2. It's like we're in Sex and the City!

**Chapter 2:**

**It's like we're in _Sex and the City_!**

—

Levi paced back and forth in the living room of Hanji's apartment. Sipping a mojito, Hanji sat on the couch and watched him, amused. _Grading papers can wait, I guess._

"Eren _fucking _Yeager?" Levi said, finally standing still and looking at her. "I saw his name in the newspaper the other day. You want to know what it said? It said his success is astounding for a 19-year-old._ A 19-year-old_. He's not even 20. I fucked a teenager. What the fuck."

Hanji just kept sipping her drink, waiting and uncharacteristically quiet about the matter, while Levi was uncharacteristically talkative.

Levi continued, "He's as old as the students I teach. I'm a 28-year-old professor and I fucked a teenager."

"Yeah," Hanji said. "He's cute though, right?"

"Go to hell. You should've told me he was going to be working at Shiganshina. I have to see this kid at work now, and if it gets out that I had a one night stand with Eren Yeager, I'll never hear the end of it. College students are annoying."

"Oh, they wouldn't dare say anything to you. Your eyes scare them off."

"Good."

Hanji smiled. "Look at us: a couple of girlfriends, drinking mojitos and talking about boy problems. It's like we're in _Sex and the City_!" Hanji said. "And who cares if he's 19?"

"_I_ care. And what is with your newfound obsession with pop culture?" Levi said. Ignoring his comment, Hanji put down her drink and put on her coat.

"Come on, let's go," she said. "You can finish your rant at Petra's." They, along with Erwin, were set to have dinner at Petra and Oluo's house soon.

Levi was silent throughout the car ride. He sat straight, crossing his arms, and looked out the window. Emptying his head of thoughts related to Eren Yeager, he thought of any little random thing: he thought of his students, he thought of the coming fall, he thought about his annoying neighbor with the stupid cat, he thought of _Sex and the City_, he thought of the boy on the sidewalk they were passing by in the car that looked a lot like Eren Yeager.

Levi's eyes widened as looked out the window: Eren Yeager (or a lookalike) and a blond person were standing on the sidewalk. The car quickly speeding away, he could no longer make them out.

"What's up?" Hanji said as she continued driving, glancing at him briefly.

"Nothing," he said.

They reached the apartment around 6:35 p.m., and Petra greeted them as she waved them through the door. Looking around, they noticed Oluo's absence.

"Where's the husband?" Levi asked.

"He's joining us soon. He's picking up my niece from my sister's house. She'll be staying with us for a while since her parents are both out of town on business trips. Do you mind if she joins for dinner?" said Petra.

"No! Of course not. I remember her. She's a freshman at the university, right? Didn't you tell me she just turned 18? Levi _loves_ teenagers," Hanji said with a big, fat grin as she looked at Levi.

_You dick_, he mouthed silently at her while Petra's back was turned.

"Yeah, she just turned 18 last month." Petra looked confused because she knew Levi most certainly did not love teenagers, but she saw the expressions on Hanji's and Levi's faces and thought it best not to ask.

The doorbell rang, and Petra opened the door to let in Erwin.

"Hi, Erwin. Oh, what's this?" Petra said, noticing the bag he carried.

"Just a bottle of wine for dinner," said Erwin. He smiled at her and saw Levi and Hanji, but no Oluo.

"Oluo's picking up my niece right now. She's going to be staying with us for a little bit while her parents are out of town. You don't mind if she stays for dinner, do you?"

"Not at all," Erwin said.

Levi and Hanji took their places at the dinner table while Erwin offered to help Petra carry in the food. As roast beef, potatoes, salad, and other dishes entered the room, Levi felt strangely content. He appreciated the warm glow of the dim, yellow lighting, the soft cream of the tablecloth, the smell and heat of the food.

It had been a long week—he passed back lab reports and quizzes (which were dismal, though he wasn't surprised) and the students went batshit and teary-eyed like they had never gotten a D on anything before, so they tried to defend their shitty work over and over again. And then there was Hanji, who was suddenly fascinated by pop culture; while Levi was used to her sometimes erratic behavior and chattiness, he really did not care if some child star leaked a picture of his penis or what the reaction said about sexism in the media. And then he got drunk and slept with a teenager, of course. But sitting here, in the warm glow of a kitchen and a fireplace with the smell of food and the chatter of his good friends, he was content. He could feel a week's worth of stress melting away.

He reached out to his wine glass, which Petra had filled for him, and brought it to his lips, taking a sip as the door opened wide.

"I'm back," said Oluo as he walked in. "Hitch is here, too."

A girl walked in behind him, and Levi's eyes widened just slightly.

"Hi, everyone. I— Oh, Professor!" she said as she met Levi's eyes,

"Hello, Hitch," he said.

"You two already know each other," said Petra, looking back and forth between them. "I guess I should have put two and two together."

Oluo and Hitch sat at the table, and Hitch wouldn't stop looking at Levi.

"Professor," she said.

"Yes?" he said.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

He sighed internally. He knew where this was going. "Yes?" he said.

"I don't think I deserve a D+ on that lab report," Hitch said, "I—"

"We shouldn't talk grades at the table right now," Petra interrupted as she placed a plate of food in front of her. "It's rude."

Hitch bit her lip and complied reluctantly.

"No, it's fine. We can just get this out of the way now," said Levi.

"Are you sure?" Petra said. Levi didn't get to answer before Hitch started again.

"Okay, I got a 67% on that report. But Armin Arlert got a 73% and I know I did as good (if not better) than he did." Hitch went on, explaining her reasoning to Levi, while everyone else at the table tuned out and had their own conversations.

Erwin glanced at the two: Levi looked bored and apathetic (but then again, that was his default expression) and Hitch was animatedly defending her assignment. Smiling, he remembered his own university days, when he would vent to his friends about unfair grades and ridiculous classes.

"Erwin," Petra said. He turned his attention back to her.

"Hm? Yes?"

"We were just talking about going to see that new film later—the one you said you wanted to see the other day?" said Petra.

"Oh, yes. That would be great."

"It premieres here this Saturday at 7:20 p.m.," said Oluo as he looked at the website on his phone. Hanji confirmed that everyone was free then.

"Do you guys mind if I invite another friend?" Hanji said.

"It's fine. Who is it?" asked Erwin. Hanji smiled.

"Eren Yeager," she said. Levi, who was not a part of the conversation because he was still listening to Hitch, did not turn in her direction or acknowledge what she had just said. But his eye twitched, and that was enough.

Erwin's eyes lit up at the name, and he went into college dean mode.

"That's a great idea," he said. "It'll make him feel welcome."

"Aren't you friends with the kid?" Oluo asked Hanji.

"You are?" said Erwin, surprised.

"Yeah, I've known him for a while—before he got published, actually. He used to work at Café Maria in high school before he moved to the next city over for college. And sometimes he visits me at the bar when I work there to help out my cousin, the owner," Hanji said.

"That's fantastic. If he's already your good friend, perhaps he'll be more inclined to extend his stay here," said Erwin. "I've read _Attack on Titan_. It's quite good, and although I don't think it's a masterpiece, Eren Yeager has real talent and potential." Erwin wanted Eren, to put it simply. While Shiganshina University had excellent and renowned departments in most areas, as of late its English department was losing prestige.

"Did you say 'Eren Yeager'?" Hitch said, turning abruptly.

"Yes. Yeager will be a visiting scholar at the university, working with our English department," Erwin said. Hitch gaped, not caring at the moment if she looked like an idiot in front of her orgo professor and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences because _holy shit_ Eren Yeager was going to be at her school.

"Oh my god," Hitch said. "Eren freaking Yeager. Is he going to be at the university a lot?" she asked.

"Almost every day," said Erwin. "He won't be teaching classes or anything of the sort, but he'll be working with a lot of the professors here and their students."

"Holy shit," said Hitch, gasping. "I love _Attack on Titan_. I've been obsessed with the book since summer. I can't believe it." She pulled her cell phone from her jean pocket and began texting furiously. Petra smiled at all the enthusiasm at the table.

"What're you doing?" Petra asked.

"Telling everyone about this. God, they're going to freak. Hey, I'm not hungry; can I please be excused for dinner?"

"Sure. I'll bring up food later." said Petra. Hitch yelled out a "thank you" as she ran up the stairs.

"Freshmen," Levi said under his breath, and Petra laughed.

—

"What _is _Twitter, anyway?" Erwin asked when Hanji said she was on Eren Yeager's Twitter. They were all sitting around in front of the fireplace in the living room after dinner. Levi swore she was bringing up Yeager at every opportunity to annoy him.

"It's a site where you can quickly keep people updated on what you're doing or what you're thinking, and you have 'followers' and can follow others." Hanji said. Erwin furrowed his brows.

"Followers—like a cult?" Erwin said.

"Kind of," said Hanji. "Oh, look, Eren said something about Shiganshina U." Erwin perked up and looked over at the screen of Hanji's phone.

**—Eren Yeager ( eren_yeager):** Excited to be working with the great English department at Shiganshina University soon!

"That's great," said Erwin. Hanji handed him the phone, seeing his clear interest.

**—Eren Yeager ( eren_yeager):** I have this prejudice I have against Americans who don't use Oxford commas.

"Huh," said Erwin after reading a few more tweets. "Twitter is quite interesting." He read the next one out loud:

**—Eren Yeager ( eren_yeager):** I don't know if I never want to drink vodka again or drink it more often. All I know is that I think I have a thing for short guys now.

Levi almost choked on his wine.

* * *

Eren almost turned away when he saw Levi sitting inside as he approached Café Maria. _Who the hell shows up at 6:00 a.m on a Saturday?_, he thought, fully aware of his own hypocrisy. The coffee shop was empty of customers except for Levi, who was sitting at a table in a corner. A laptop, coffee, and a small stack of papers sat on his table. He looked warm, Eren noted with jealousy as he stood clutching his laptop in the cold. Debating on whether or not to turn away, Eren just stood there, looking at Levi.

His decision was made for him, however, when Levi looked up and met his eyes as he took a sip of his coffee. Levi paused just slightly mid-drink, and while his face revealed nothing about what he was thinking, he continued looking at Eren.

Eren nearly dropped his laptop, cursing as he fumbled. _Don't look embarrassed_, he told himself, but he could feel his ears burning. The confidence and ease that he displayed the morning after their night together was virtually gone now. He opened the door and walked in, relieved at the warmth but slightly panicking about the man who was currently sitting in the corner.

"Hi," Eren said to the barista. "Can I get a large hazelnut macchiato?"

"Sure thing. That'll be $4.15," she said. She took his money, then grabbed a cup and a marker. "What's your name?"

"Eren," he said. He peeked over at Levi, who was still sitting at his corner and typing, apparently not paying Eren any attention. It was then that he realized the only other electricity outlet available (other than the one Levi was currently using) was near Levi, which meant Eren had to sit at a neighboring table because he hadn't charged his laptop the night before. This is going to be so fucking awkward, he thought.

He walked over to the table next to Levi's and sat his things down.

"Uh, hi," said Eren. "How's it going?" Levi stopped typing immediately and turned to look at him.

After a moment, he sighed and said, "Look, kid, we got drunk and we fucked and now we work together. It is what it is. You don't have to make small talk."

Eren blinked, a little stunned—and relieved—that Levi was addressing everything so openly and bluntly. It pleased him.

"So I guess it's going okay, then?" said Eren with an amused smile, now more relaxed.

Levi snorted. "Sure."

They fell into silence after that, the air filled with the sound of fingers hitting keys and a barista working. Concentration was evident on Eren's face; he was usually focused and maybe a little intense when he was writing, said past observers. This time, though, he was slightly distracted by the man sitting next to him. Just slightly. He glanced over at Levi, who was sipping his drink.

_He holds his cup funny_, Eren noticed. Levi took a sip of his drink again and Eren thought he would spill it with the way he was holding it, but he didn't. He watched as Levi brought the cup up to his lips, blowing briefly before making contact. (When the thought _that was hot_ appeared in his mind, he convinced himself he was talking about the coffee, of course. _Yes, the coffee looks hot. Very hot._) Finally realizing what he was doing, Eren turned back to his laptop and went back to working.

Levi pretended not to notice the boy's periodic glances. He couldn't help glancing back himself after a while, though, when he noticed that Eren stopped paying attention to him. Levi looked over to see him completely focused on whatever was on his computer screen, brows furrowed and lips moving slightly as he subconsciously and silently mouthed the words he was reading.

Levi stopped typing at that sight, somewhat taken aback at the concentration. Where was the cheeky grin the boy had after Levi kicked him out of the apartment? Or the nervous biting of the lip upon entering the café? (Or the _sensual _biting of the lip as Levi was pinning him down on the mattress a few days ago—but he discarded that thought as soon as it popped in his head.)

Levi leaned back in his chair a bit, just enough to see what Eren was looking at. It was a word document, probably a draft he wrote himself. Satisfied, Levi went back to looking at his own laptop screen. He was just about to check his email when Eren sighed loudly. Levi kept his eyes on his screen, refusing to look.

"That's not right," Eren muttered to himself quietly, though not quietly enough.

Levi still kept his eyes on his work.

Eren started tapping his foot while Levi was trying to respond to an email. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the blur of Eren's knee, rapidly bouncing up and down. He was suddenly reminded of why he came to the coffee shop before 6:00 a.m. on Saturdays in the first place: there were usually no other people making noises or tapping foots or bouncing knees, only the sounds of employees working on the other side of the room and customers occasionally passing in and out. Levi sighed, trying not to blame the kid for his own shitty attention span in the mornings, and went back to his email. (There was something in the back of his mind, though, that told him it wasn't just his morning irritability at fault, but he was not inclined to listen to such thoughts at the moment.)

Eren's phone vibrated loudly against the wooden table. Snapping out of his concentration, he picked it up. Levi looked over at him when Eren started chuckling at whatever was on his phone. Then smiling as he typed a reply. Then looking surprised as the next text he received.

Levi wasn't even pretending to work anymore. That email was not getting written.

(Eren bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. He felt mild guilt at distracting Levi from his work, but it was nice to not be the only one sending glances.)


	3. Do you like E E Cummings?

**Chapter 3:**

**Do you like E. E. Cummings?**

—

Levi was on his fourth cup of coffee before Eren started to get worried. He was typing rapidly and his eyes were narrowed in concentration. It was a wonder that this man—who looked so tense and uptight, and Eren was beginning to suspect that he might have been workaholic—was the one that he had a drunken night with. A college professor hopped up on four cups of black coffee and squinting at a computer screen at 7:30 a.m. didn't exactly exactly scream "I like to fuck strangers I meet at bars."

"Hey, do you really think you should be drinking so much coffee all at once? That's probably not good for you," Eren said. He wondered for a moment if he was being too intrusive when Levi raised an eyebrow.

He considered ignoring the kid, but instead said, "Studies show that coffee doesn't have detrimental health effects even if you drink up to six cups a day."

"Huh," said Eren. "I've been misled."

"It's probably healthier than the shit you're drinking," said Levi as he eyed Eren's hot chocolate with whipped cream. Eren looked at his cup with a guilty grin, his teeth bared and eyes crinkling. He was pretty fucking cute, Levi noted, then wanted to slam his forehead against the table because he was only a god damn teenager.

"I like sweets," Eren said with a shrug, happy that they could talk normally.

"You're such a kid," Levi said offhandedly, more as a result of his own thoughts than of Eren's love of sweets.

He hadn't really meant it in an insulting or hurtful way, but Eren's cheerful demeanor soured immediately. Eren's jaw clenched and his smile was completely gone, and Levi remembered the way Eren had responded that night at the bar to a similar comment. _"I'm not a kid!"_

"I'm not a kid."

"I didn't—"

"What, I'm a child because I like hot chocolate?"

"No, of—"

"Who are you to invalidate me because of stupid shit like that?" Eren's face was getting redder and he huffed with anger.

"Look, I—"

"I am so tired of being called a kid. I am so tired of that bullshit. I don't need—"

"_Stop_. Look, I didn't mean it like that. You're not a kid. I'm sorry," said Levi, the apology feeling awkward and foreign on his tongue. Eren froze, then sighed in frustration, his shoulders no longer tense, but hanging.

"Shit," said Eren, looking at his lap. "I didn't mean to get angry at you like that." He felt so, so stupid and childish for blowing up at that little comment. It wasn't Levi's fault that those words bothered him so much. Levi wasn't his father. And Levi had even apologized and didn't get mad at him or anything, despite his seemingly gruff and agitated personality. He was being an adult. Eren really did feel like a child, now. "Sorry," Eren muttered, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

An awkward, dejected silence fell over them. As he continued looking down, Eren became lost in his own thoughts, and for the first time it struck Levi that Eren Yeager, with the pretty smile and best-selling book and careless air, had something that kept him up some nights, that stained his soul with a kind of sorrow or bitterness. It was funny how you could forget those things sometimes, Levi thought, that you could forget that everyone heard those sad, angry whispers that felt like they could rip you apart.

"You feel what you feel," Levi said finally in his usual flat tone. "It's fine."

At those words Eren looked up to see Levi looking elsewhere at nothing in particular, his elbow on the table and his head resting in his hand. He looked like a bored teenager. The man was unoffended at Eren's outburst and unconcerned with his current emotional state, but his words felt stuck in Eren's chest. Eren wasn't sure why, they just did.

"'I feel what I feel,' huh?" he said quietly, unsure if he was talking to himself or the man next to him at this point. There was the unspoken knowledge between them that the "kid" comment bothered Eren for other reasons, ones that Levi didn't yet know but could nevertheless respect. Everything felt strangely intimate.

"Yeah," said Levi.

"Is it really that simple?" Eren asked. Levi was looking at him now.

"It is."

Eren's mouth opened to say something, but he closed it, pausing for a moment before nodding in understanding.

"Thanks," he said after a while.

_What for?_ Levi wanted to say, but refrained because he wasn't used to making so much intimate conversation (or any conversation, really) with most people, let alone this one in particular, but also because he kind of already knew "what for."

When he didn't respond, Eren realized it was probably a cue to move on from their conversation. _Of course. He doesn't really seem like the talkative type_, he thought. He felt a little embarrassed now, having shown that kind of vulnerability to a virtual stranger, especially one that he had slept with. He wasn't sure if Levi's lack of a response made it better or worse—but he did tell Eren those words, didn't he? _"You feel what you feel. It's fine."_ Why, despite the casual and monotone voice, had that sounded so sincere? Eren gently traced the rim of his cup with his thumb, and for some reason his neck felt a little warm.

"So," said Eren, ready to start anew, "you really don't like hot chocolate? I didn't know you lacked a soul." The lightness of his tone and the grin on his face cleansed the tension and uncertainty in the air.

Levi snorted. "You actually thought I had a soul?"

His eyes wide in slight surprise, Eren grinned even wider. Levi was actually joking with him.

"Nah, I guess not. I never did trust people who could drink their coffee black."

"I don't like sweet things," said Levi, surprising even himself that he was still talking.

"You're pretty different from Hanji," Eren said suddenly. His hand then covered his forehead and he started laughing. "God, that reminds me: last week she sent me snapchats of her having Capri Suns for breakfast."

Levi grimaced. She was still doing that? _Ugh._

"Oh!" said Eren, "and the caption, it said, 'breakfast of a _capri_cious adult at sunrise." Unable to contain himself, Eren started cracking up and slapping his knee.

"Shitty Glasses and her shitty jokes," Levi said under his breath, shaking his head. Eren only laughed harder at that, and Levi had his classic I-am-so-done-with-this-shit look on his face. After moments passed and Eren was still laughing (_Why? That was the shittiest joke, what the fuck_), Levi politely waited for him, looking bored as ever.

"Come on," said Eren through his laughter, "'_capri_-cious,' '_sun_-rise'—get it?"

His eyes were so big and his face was so expectant, Levi couldn't help it when a corner of his mouth lifted to form a wry, absent-minded kind of half-smile tinged with amusement and condescension.

Eren's laughter halted and he held his breath for that instant. He stared, blinking and devoid of any thoughts except for, _he's smiling—kind of_. He realized then that it was the first time he had ever seen Levi with anything close to a smile, and it was so foreign and unexpected that Eren really didn't know how to breathe for a second. He could see a strip of teeth gleaming, like a bit of strange white space between the tear of two lips. It was all kind of entrancing.

"'...And the coolness of your smile is stirringofbirds between my arms,'" said Eren absent-mindedly and slowly under his breath, not realizing he was speaking—not realizing what he was saying.

"What?" said Levi. Eren's eyes widened as he snapped out of his reverie.

"Nothing!" he said. "I didn't say anything." He could feeling the hard pulsing of blood in his neck. "It doesn't matter."

—

Eren left an hour after that, leaving Levi to himself once again. In that hour the two of them slipped in and out of conversation, though Eren was doing most of the talking while Levi would respond occasionally, if he felt like it (which was rare). Throughout all this Eren went through one hazelnut macchiato, one hot chocolate, two muffins, a banana, and a bagel ("You eat like a baby dinosaur." —"Isn't that from _No Strings Attached_?" —"...Hanji made me watch it."), while Levi managed to get on his sixth cup of black coffee ("How have you not peed yet?").

As he was gathering his things in preparation for leaving, he turned to Levi and blurted out nervously, "I don't even like E. E. Cummings."

"What?" said Levi.

Eren exhaled. "Nothing," he said, laughing at himself a little. "Just something I was thinking about."

He slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and threw away a few scraps of trash.

"See you later," said Eren with a wave and a smile as he walked out of Café Maria.

The door shut with a resounding thud and the jangle of the bell hanging at the top. All of a sudden it felt even quieter than before when it was just the two of them, Levi realized, despite the clamor of more customers, employees, and coffee-making. It was so quiet.

—

"Did you get a lot of work done this morning?" Hanji asked as she and Levi stood in her kitchen, her chopping carrots and him leaning against the counter uselessly because he wasn't to be trusted with cooking. It was evening now, and they were preparing for dinner.

"No," he said.

"Well, that's new!" she said. "You didn't go to the café today? Did you sleep with another teenager?"

"Shove it up your ass," he said in annoyance. "No, I went."

Hanji turned around now, her lips curled in a slight smile. "Then what was the problem?"

Levi paused, then said, "People… breathing. Bouncing knees. Texting."

Hanji gasped loudly and dramatically. "Breathing? _Texting_?" She dropped her knife and ran over to him, grabbing his face between her hands.

"Don't touch me with your filthy—"

"Oh Lord," she said as she began shaking him, "please cleanse our dear brother Leviticus of the breathing and the texting he has encountered today." She pressed her forehead against his, her glasses smashed against his eyelids. "Amen."

"Your hands are dirty—"

"Hallelujah!"

"Shitty Glasses—"

"Praise Jesus!"

"Is that a _stain_—"

"And the Kardashians."

Levi pushed away her arms as she laughed. She threw her arm on his shoulder, using him as an armrest, and he turned his head away, grimacing at the water stain on her sleeve.

"Honestly, though. Breathing? Bouncing knees? Texting?" she said, clearly not taking him seriously.

"There were _emotions_," he said. At this she raised her eyebrows and pushed her glasses back on her nose.

"The horny kind?" she asked in earnest. He rolled his eyes at her.

"The angry kind. The sad kind."

"I see," said Hanji. She would have asked about it, asked what "angry" or "sad" person or thing got him so distracted that he couldn't complete his Saturday morning routine and act out his workaholic behavior, but one look at Levi revealed that he became distant again. He wasn't going to talk about it anytime soon, and as much as she loved prying and getting into people's business and overstepping boundaries, Levi always was a special kind of boy.

The look he had on his face now told her that maybe even _he _didn't know whatever it is that he was talking about. She would let him off the hook, then—just this once.

"Do you like E. E. Cummings?" he said out of the blue, staring at the wall across from him.

She smiled at him, her arm still resting on his shoulder. She rested her head against that arm, and he didn't push her away. "Ilove E. E. Cummings."

He let out a short laugh. "I Googled him."

"Oh?" she said.

"Yeah."

"What'd you find?"

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Porn, basically." Hanji laughed.

* * *

That night, as he laid in bed, Eren couldn't get Levi's smile out of his head.

* * *

They really had to stop meeting like this, under the grey, cloudy sky and icy cold of desolate mornings, when everyone else was half-asleep in their beds at 6:00 a.m. The only other people active on campus at the moment were a few custodians sweeping the rooms, the low music of their personal radios traveling through the halls.

Last night's rain had wet the ground outside and left red and yellow leaves stuck to every wet surface, stuck to the bottom of shoes as people walked past, as if to serve as a reminder that they were coming into autumn.

Eren basked in the weather and the scenery as he walked to the staff room, all bundled up in his thick brown coat and maroon scarf. His boots made a squelching noise as they hit the damp, shimmering blacktop, and he didn't bother to peel away the bright leaves stuck to the bottom of his heel.

When he stood in front of the door of the staff lounge, he stopped, taking a moment to breathe in deeply and appreciate the way the icy cold air felt in his lungs. He was calm this morning. Mornings were about the only time he, passionate, clumsy Eren Yeager, was completely calm. It always surprised people that he was a morning person.

"Ahem," someone cleared his throat behind him. Eren jumped a little at the noise, and he turned around to see Levi staring blankly at him.

Eren's heart started to beat a little faster—at the surprise, he thought, it was merely the surprise of Levi's appearance that caused his rapid heartbeat, of course—and his face broke out into a smile.

"Hi," said Eren breathlessly.

"Are you going to open the door?" Levi said, skipping the salutations.

"Oh, yeah. Of course. My bad," said Eren as he turned the knob and held open the door for Levi, who gave him a quiet, "thanks."

Eren took a seat at one of the tables while Levi sat on a couch a few feet away. Eren took off his coat and put down his messenger bag, too aware of Levi's presence in the room. He looked down at his boots, admiring the colors of the leaves stuck to his heels and ankles.

When he looked up he saw Levi peeling off the wet leaves from his shoes with an irritated look on his face, and he laughed softly under his breath.

Levi heard him, though, and looked up. "You laughing at me, Yeager?"

"Yeah," said Eren, slightly surprised at and inexplicably pleased with the way Levi was calling him by his last name.

"Fucking brat," said Levi without any real malice. Levi then became alarmed, realizing he could have just offended Eren again by calling him "brat" and hitting that same nerve he did two days ago, but Eren just laughed.

"Hey, you fucked this brat," he said playfully without thinking. The two of them froze, taking in what Eren had just said.

While Levi had been quite blunt about it when they first met at the coffee shop just two days ago, they hadn't really brought it up again. There was always an odd kind of air between them then, because they were both blunt and honest (although in different ways), but sex—that one night stand—was always in the back of their minds. It was weirder for Levi especially because it was so rare he found someone that was easy to talk to like Eren was—heck, someone that he was even _willing _to talk to (or willing to talk to _him_, for that matter).

So their interactions were always like that: easy and refreshing, but colored with sex, with the fact that they had seen each other naked and heard each other moan and watched each other unravel in the midst of drunken pleasure.

The moment Eren said those words, Levi thought back to that night—the wet kisses, the hot breaths against his ear, the fact that he now knew that Eren Yeager liked to bite and Levi may or may not still have a few fading marks to prove it.

Eren cleared his throat and looked away. "Um…"

The door flew open and Hanji stuck her head in. With a look of suspicion on her face, she started sniffing the air.

"Smells like sexual tension in here," she said.

"Hi Hanji," said Eren, relieved at the escape from the awkwardness.

"Hey babe," she said as she walked towards them and sat on the tabletop next to Eren. "Has this little sexy homunculus scared you off yet?"

Eren laughed and shook his head.

"What are you doing up so early?" Eren asked. He and Levi might have been morning people, perfectly capable of and willing to roll out of bed at 5:00 a.m., but Hanji most certainly was not.

"I've been here since 4:00 a.m., actually. I was making a new midterm for this semester since the last one got leaked." Hanji had on a rare look of discontentment.

"Wow, that sucks. I think I heard about that from Armin; it was a big scandal, wasn't it? You must be really disappointed in those students," Eren said.

"I really am," said Hanji, shaking her head in exasperation. "A lot of them are pre-med, and if they can't get away with a simple thing like this, how are they going to manage being doctors?"

"Yeah…" said Eren. "Wait, what?"

"How are you going to cut people open if you can't even manage to steal a test right? Keep track of my daily schedule, find out where I keep the test, get a diversion going, take pictures of the test. Or they could've done it electronically if they had the money or the know-how—how hard is it?!"

Eren's mouth hung open a little.

"Doctors? _Please_. I'm so disappointed as an educator," said Hanji, throwing her hands up.

"Uh, yeah," said Eren.

Hanji looked at the clock, then smiled and said, "I'm going to go grab coffee and run some errands. I'll be back in an hour… or three."

She passed by Levi, stooped down, and whispered in his ear, "However long it takes for you two to have a quickie and become boyfriends already."

"I will stab you in the ear with a dull pencil," said Levi. She patted his head lovingly and left.

Eren and Levi were alone once again.

"So," said Eren. "A quickie, huh?"

"Fucking brat."

* * *

Two and a half months passed before Levi was sitting in his office in the middle of the day on a November Wednesday whispering "Oh, _fuck_," because he finally realized he had a problem.

Eren had just left his office, coming in to talk to Levi about nothing in particular while Levi worked. It had become a daily routine with them, Eren seeking Levi out when he could and talking his ear off, or sometimes they just sat in comfortable silence together.

It was an unexpected friendship to everyone else (except for Hanji, of course), since these two seemed such like opposites, and especially because Levi was known as somewhat of a misanthrope with a fatally sharp tongue. But, for some reason, Eren liked him.

"Your organic chem. professor is really nice," he told Armin the Saturday he had first run into Levi at the coffee shop. Armin nearly choked on his tea.

The days and weeks following that just fell into place for them. Eren was like Hanji in the way he barged into Levi's life, although he was less intrusive and loud.

It… wasn't bad, Levi had to admit. It really wasn't.

Receiving Eren's random texts at 2 a.m. when he couldn't sleep didn't bother Levi nearly as much as he pretended they did. Losing his work time every Saturday morning and getting distracted because Eren was there wasn't so bad either, really. And the grimaces he had when he received weekly joke or pun emails from Eren almost looked like smiles. Almost.

It was a strange friendship, but really, it wasn't strange at all.

Now Eren sat in Levi's office, their daily routine, and asked him about his day, to which Levi responded gruffly, "Shitty brats complaining to me about their grades instead of studying, like always. And Erwin won't stop _tweeting _things."

Eren started laughing and swinging his legs. He let Levi rant on while he popped gummy bears in his mouth, listening patiently. Eren loved hearing Levi talk, even if he was just complaining about his day.

"And your friend Armin—is he okay? He looks fucking brain dead lately. Usually he just looks anxious, like a squirrel on cocaine."

"Yeah," said Eren. "Armin's fine. Just a little sleep-deprived. He's still going crazy over the fact that he's getting a C in your class. And then sometimes I'll walk by his room and I just hear him chanting, 'Annie Leonhart. Annie Leonhart.'"

Levi gave a small, amused smile at this, which made a warm feeling bloom in Eren's chest. He gripped his bag of candy tight, then set it down. His face was serious now.

"Levi," said Eren.

"What?" said Levi, still writing on the papers in front of him and not looking up.

Eren's heart hammered in his chest and he swallowed.

"Are you dating anyone?"

Levi's hand froze as the words registered. After a moment he looked up to meet Eren's unwavering gaze.

"No," he said finally.

"Good," said Eren, who still continued to look at him, his blue-green eyes burning and steady.

After that, Eren said that he had to leave to meet friends for lunch. He said his goodbye and closed the door.

Levi sat in silence, unable to finish whatever he had been writing.

"Shit," he said to himself out loud, and he wondered why his heart was pounding.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Cheesyyyyyy. I'm sorry. Conflict and angst later, maybe.

You can read this story on Archive of Our Own if you'd like. I actually update _Organic Chemistry_ days/a week-ish earlier on AO3 than I do on this website because it takes me some time to find and get rid of all the typos, but if you want earlier updates, you can read it there ^_^

Thanks for reading :D


	4. Hanji, you bastard

**Chapter 4: Hanji, you bastard.**

—

The first time Jean and Eren had sex, they were 16 and in Eren's basement. If anyone asked, they said that it just sort of happened (although Jean's definition of "it just sort of happened" included buying condoms two weeks in advance because _maybe _he had been waiting months now to seduce Eren, but he would never admit it).

They hadn't had the best first meeting, so it was somewhat of a surprise to them that things had ended up that way. The first time they met, Jean was hitting on Mikasa in the stands at a school soccer game.

"He goes to the school we're playing right now. He's been trying to get a date for weeks," Armin explained. Eren looked at Jean with immediate disgust, not trusting the way he was leering at Mikasa or the way he didn't seem to back off despite her disinterest. She seemed completely uninterested, unaware or at least uncaring that she was being hit on. Her eyes lit up when she saw Eren and Armin, and she waved them over.

"Hey Jean," said Armin. "This is Eren, Mikasa's brother."

Jean took one look at him and, despite the fact that Mikasa and Eren weren't biologically related, wondered at the great genes that went into the Yeager family.

"Hi," said Jean, a little breathless at the attractive boy in front of him and momentarily forgetting about Mikasa. Eren didn't notice Jean's immediate interest in him, instead eyeing the way Jean's hand was touching Mikasa's.

"You look like a fucking horse. Stop hitting on my sister," said Eren, glaring at him.

"Eren!" Armin said with wide eyes.

"What the fuck?" said Jean, surprised and offended.

Mikasa, who would normally scold her brother for being so rude, covered her mouth with her hand and tried to hide her smile.

It all went downhill from there: Jean and Eren were sworn enemies after that. To Jean, Eren was a rude, childish prick with a big mouth who insulted his pride, and to Eren, Jean was a pretentious douchebag who couldn't take no for an answer.

So it annoyed Jean to no end that he still found Eren Yeager very, very attractive. And after a few months and time for reflection, he realized that he really might've been a douchebag when he kept hitting on Mikasa despite her disinterest. But god, he did not want to give Eren the satisfaction of admitting that he was wrong.

Things mellowed out between them eventually, and their arguments became less filled with tension and more filled with _sexual _tension.

"So that's how I lost my virginity to a horse," Eren liked to joke.

"Eren has a tiny dick," said Jean apathetically, used to Eren's insults.

"I feel a little guilty breaking the law—beastiality and everything, you know," said Eren.

"Tiny. Positively miniscule dick," said Jean casually, not looking up from the pages of his newspaper.

"Wow, guys, did I really need to hear about this at breakfast?" said Armin. They all sat around a table in a nearly empty dining hall, plates of food in front of them. It was Sunday and nearing 7:00 a.m.

"Hey, we need _someone _to hear us quip at each other. Otherwise it's just pathetic," said Eren, looking appalled at idea. Jean nodded his head vigorously in agreement, and Armin sighed in exasperation.

"I don't think horse jokes and tiny dick accusations really count as clever quips anyway," said Armin as he took a bite of his scrambled eggs.

Eren sighed, and he and Jean looked at each other.

"Armin's right. We're losing our touch," said Eren.

"Yeah," said Jean. "It's just not as easy to hate each other as it was in high school."

They both closed their eyes and shook their heads dramatically, mourning the end of their era of being enemies.

Eren cupped Jean's cheek and looked him in the eye.

"You'll always be 'Horseface' to me, Jean," said Eren with fondness.

"I'll punch you in the crotch," said Jean in a flat tone, and Eren started laughing.

"You guys are so ridiculous," said Armin chuckling, and Jean smiled.

"So, you're looking better," said Jean, noticing that Armin looked relaxed for the first time in weeks. It probably had something to do with Eren's now-frequent presence, he suspected.

"What do you mean?" said Armin.

"I don't know. You've been looking really stressed out lately. Wasn't your organic chemistry class giving you trouble or something?" said Jean. Armin's eyes went wide, then narrow. He gripped his fork a little tighter.

"We don't talk about that anymore," Eren whispered to Jean.

"I have a C in that class now. A _C_," Armin whispered in horror as he shook his head. Jean's eyebrows shot up.

"Wow. You've never gotten a C. Ever," said Jean.

"I _know_," Armin cried.

"This must be devastating for you," said Jean, and Armin just groaned and covered his face with his hands. Eren smacked Jean on the head. "Ow!"

"You're an idiot," Eren said to him. Jean rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you ask someone for help? Surely _someone _in the class is getting a good grade," said Jean. Armin pursed his lips.

"One person," said Armin. "One person is getting a good grade."

"Great! Ask them for help. What's the problem?" Jean asked, seeing the odd expression on Armin's face.

"_Annie Leonhart_," Eren said in a mockingly serious tone, imitating Armin before he could say it. Armin shot him a glare.

"She has to be cheating or something. _No one_ is that smart. No one," said Armin. He was clearly bitter, Jean could tell.

"Aren't you just being resentful because she's getting the best grade and beating you?" said Jean, honest as ever. Armin looked offended at that idea. He opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't find any words and closed it. He looked at Eren for support.

"Horseface kind of has a point," said Eren as he looked away guiltily.

"Hey!" said Armin. "That's not true."

"It's totally true," said Eren. "Swallow your pride and ask her for help, man."

"No! She's cheating—she has to be!" said Armin, although they could tell that even he didn't really believe himself. Jean shrugged.

"Maybe she's sleeping with the professor," he suggested jokingly.

"Eren's already doing that," said Armin automatically. He then froze and looked at Eren, realizing what he had just said in front of Jean.

"…Woops."

—

He wasn't jealous. He wasn't.

"…And so after my dad called I was super pissed and I wasn't thinking straight…"

It wasn't really his business if Eren decided to sleep with Armin's old fart of an orgo professor. Jean and Eren weren't in a relationship, after all. They weren't even dating.

"…He kicked me out of bed—literally. It was kind of funny…"

They only slept together occasionally. It was an unspoken friends-with-benefits agreement between them, and had never caused any problems before. It was never a big deal. Jean was more promiscuous though, sleeping with other people as he pleased, whereas Eren didn't really. He had few sexual partners in comparison, and didn't often have sex outside of relationships. Jean was his exception.

So he didn't even have a right to be jealous—not that he was jealous in the first place, of course. Besides, it was only a one-night stand, and he knew from experience that those never meant anything as long as you didn't make anything out of them.

"…I saw him yesterday at Café Maria. It was awkward at first, but we actually get along pretty well. He's really interesting."

_Oh._

—

"Holy shit, is that really him?"

"I think so—it has to be him. There's Jean and his blond friend, too."

"Wow. He's hot? I didn't know he was hot. What the hell?"

"I call dibs."

"You can't call dibs on Eren Yeager!"

Students started filling the dining hall after about an hour, and it didn't take long before they noticed Eren. He, Jean, and Armin had chosen one of the less popular dining halls to avoid this, but Eren's face was more recognizable than they had thought, and the students had clearly been informed of his arrival beforehand.

No one had approached him yet, though, until two people ran up to their table and nearly crashed into it.

"Mr. Yeager, sir!" one of them shouted, almost like a salute. Eren flinched—not so much from the loudness of his voice, but because of what he called him.

"Connie, calm down," said Jean.

"I'm Connie," he said, catching his breath. "It's fucking amazing to meet you, oh my god. This is Sasha." He pointed to the taller girl next to him, who was currently too starstruck by Eren's presence to say anything.

Eren gave them his widest smile, and the people around him practically swooned.

"I'm straight, right?" Connie whispered doubtfully in Sasha's ear as he stared at Eren's smile. She gave him reassuring pats on the back.

"I'm Eren. And you don't have to call me 'Mr. Yeager,'" Eren said with a laugh. "Nice to meet you guys."

Connie and Sasha's introduction broke a barrier, and soon others trickled to Eren's table, introducing themselves, making conversation, and occasionally asking him to sign their copies of _Attack on Titan_. A few friends and regular members of Armin and Jean's group of friends were seated at the table with them.

"Okay," said Connie to Eren. "Sasha thinks that Wallists are a parody of organized religions in general, but that's wrong, right?"

"Oh my god," said Sasha, "of _course _they're parodies of religions. The parallels are so obvious—they're meant to show the way a lot of Western religions use fear to get followers."

"Maybe on surface level reading," said Connie, "but if you look deeper it's more of an exploration of the way fear and desperate situations drive people to look towards higher beings for support. It's about power—just look at the power the walls have, and the power structures within the Wallist church with the priests and the followers. It's not really a criticism of Christianity; it's way more psychological than that."

"If we're talking about power," said Krista, coming into the conversation, "it makes more sense to be talking about the dynamics between the adults and the children, or perhaps the symbolic value of the maneuver gear, which offers them power and a way to fight back, but at the same time restrains and binds them. I think I agree more with Sasha when she says the Wallists are a criticism of organized religion."

"Not everything is a criticism of religion! Think outside the box, people," said Connie, slightly exasperated.

"Eren," said Sasha. "Who's right?"

They all looked at him with intense eyes, needing him to settle the argument.

"Sorry, guys," he said after moments of silence. "I'm not going to tell you. You can interpret it however you want."

Connie and Sasha groaned.

"I'm still right," she said as Connie shook his head in disagreement.

"Sorry if all of this annoys you," Krista said to Eren.

"Are you kidding? I love it," he said. "I could listen to this stuff all day."

"You'll probably have to," said Jean as Connie and Sasha started debating again on the significance of the ending of the book.

* * *

It's not that his life was routine—it's just that nothing could really surprise him anymore. Levi was only 29, but sometimes he felt like he was a century old (and Erwin had certainly described him as a grouchy old man on several occasions). He liked to blame it on his job, which required constant interaction with _young people_, but Hanji said it was the weight of existence that really made him ancient.

"Your bones are old," she said, her eyes closed as her body stretched out on Levi's couch.

"I know," said Levi. "But at least coffee keeps me young."

She smiled at sat up, looking at him. "Coffee and 19-year-old ass, eh?"

"I'll kill you," he said calmly. Hanji started laughing at that.

"You know, most people think you have more subtlety and tact than to make explicit death threats, but you're really not above it all."

He shrugged. "I'm too old to be witty."

"You're not even 30!" she said.

"I'm old. You know I'm old," he said. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," she said, now more serious. "I do."

Hanji closed her eyes once more, sitting cross-legged on the couch. She was silent for a moment, and then smiled.

"But you know, Levi," she said, grinning now, "You're quite reckless for an old man. There's hope for you yet."

He half-understood her cryptic comment and didn't ask for any explanation. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

He simply inhaled and replied, "Perhaps."

—

Was his life routine after all? He wondered this as he was walking down the sidewalk towards the grocery store nearest to his house. It was only a few blocks away, so he didn't mind the walk, but it's was 4:30 a.m. and he was feeling restless. Walking so late at night (or early in the morning) felt both natural and disconcerting.

There was always a vivid familiarity, and it was like he was 16 all over again, walking home at 10:00 at night because he didn't want to leave school. He did as much in high school as he possible could—he joined clubs and teams that took up all of his time and kept him at school all day long, because even though interacting with people all day was annoying, being at home was worse.

_I'm not 16_, Levi thought to himself.

Maybe it felt like the same street and the same sidewalk, but it wasn't. He was 29 and there were no police sirens ringing in the distance. His apartment no longer shook with every passing of the train—instead it shook with Hanji's laughter. He even had a fucking flower bed on his balcony, for god's sake.

_I am not 16_, he thought to himself again, trying to shake the feeling of danger and disappointment left over from over 10 years ago, found on another street in another time and another neighborhood in another city.

But he was still Levi, walking in the same skin with his weight supported by the same bones, and the feeling carried.

There were no police sirens or wailing anymore, though, and that soothed him.

"Being old isn't so bad," he said to himself aloud as he walked through the automatic doors of the store, fluorescent lighting nearly blinding him. "I deserve to be old, god damn it."

He automatically walked towards the cleaning supplies aisle and searched for his favorite brand of bleach as he came upon the shelves. Hanji had spilled a bit of wine on his white carpet and it was driving him crazy. He was awake anyway and felt restless, so of course a trip to the store to buy bleach seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do when it was approaching 5:00 a.m. and still dark out.

His eyes scanned the rows of colorful bottles until he reached out and grabbed a specific one, holding it in his hands and pausing to look at it.

"Is this being reckless?" he said to himself, chuckling.

"Bleach is rather dangerous if used improperly, so I guess it could be considered reckless," said a familiar voice behind him. Levi inhaled and turned around.

"Eren," he said.

"Hey," said Eren with a slight smile. His face was inexplicably flushed. Levi looked down at Eren's shopping basket, which contained a carton of eggs, a bag of oranges, a bottle of milk, and sausage.

Eren noticed him looking and explained, "Oh, I was getting things to make breakfast, if you're wondering why I'm here so early. My fridge was empty."

Levi nodded.

"Bleach," he said simply as he held up the bottle in his hand, as if it were a sufficient explanation.

"Gotcha," said Eren, nodding a little too much. "Bleach. Makes sense."

Levi's eyebrows furrowed, noticing the odd way Eren was acting and the slight redness of his face. It then struck him that he had seen Eren like this once before.

"Have you been drinking?" Levi asked.

"Only a little," Eren admitted. "I'm not drunk. Just slightly… dazed."

It was true—Eren didn't _look _drunk. He seemed to be functioning fine, though he still seemed a slightly affected by the alcohol. He was morose and a little fidgety, too, and Levi wasn't sure that was a result of his drinking.

"It's not even 5:00 in the morning, brat. Jesus Christ, do you have drinking problem?"

"I hate drinking," Eren said with a frown. It seemed almost wrong, that frown on his face. Every time Levi saw Eren, the boy was smiling or laughing, save for the first night they met; Eren was upset and drunk then. He was beginning to notice a pattern.

"You're a sad drunk," said Levi.

"I'm not drunk," said Eren once more.

Sighing, Levi let the topic go. Eren seemed functioning enough, he supposed. But honestly, it was a ridiculous time to be drinking, even if college-age students were known for being wild. Then again, he was in no position to talk, considering his own college days.

They walked in silence together towards the only working check-out line. Eren wasn't sending him creepy periodic glances like he normally did the times they were together, and this actually concerned Levi.

"Why the hell do we always meet like this?" said Levi finally.

"Meet like what?" said Eren.

"Like _this_. At the bar, at the coffee shop, at the grocery store. 10:00 at night, 6:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the morning. Jesus. Are you always up when I'm up? Do we have the same urges to go to the same places at the same times?" Levi was getting slightly frustrated, although he had no idea why.

"Huh," said Eren simply. They walked for a while in silence towards the cashier. "Coincidences, I guess."

"'Coincidences,'" Levi repeated.

"Yeah," said Eren. "Or maybe it's fate."

Levi scoffed and said, "I don't believe in fate."

"I don't either," said Eren. "It's kind of nice to think about, though. It's romantic," he said, a slightly goofy smile plastered on his previously morose face.

Levi was taken aback, not expecting that answer. It made him uncomfortable.

"Yeah," Levi said after they purchased their items and were headed out the door, "getting drunk and letting me fuck you is real romantic."

Eren laughed, stopping to look at him.

"What?" said Levi.

"I can't tell if you're guarded or one of the most honest people I've ever met," said Eren, not breaking his eye contact. Levi suddenly felt naked.

"Maybe you should just appreciate the ambiguities in life," he said, looking away.

"I probably should," Eren admitted. "But isn't there something exhilarating about clarity and honesty?"

Eren kept his eyes on him, a sweet smile still on his face. Levi mentally traced the slope of his brows, upturned in a ridiculously innocent and questioning expression, and his still-pink cheeks only added to the effect. This only made him more frustrated, not only because it was cute as fuck, but because there was no actual questioning in Eren's question, because _yes, of course, of course it's exhilarating to live and interact with utter clarity and honesty, you little shit._

"It is," said Levi reluctantly. "God, you're surprisingly well-adjusted for someone who likes to get half-drunk before sunrise."

Eren's smile settled into a hard line, suddenly serious at Levi's comment. "You think so?" Eren said.

"Think what?" said Levi.

"That I'm well-adjusted?"

Eren's eyes looked heavy with his own lashes, and his breathing was slightly heavier than normal. The two men were walking just outside the grocery store now and the cold air caused Eren to pull his jacket on tighter, covering himself and trying to get warm.

"You seem well-adjusted enough, but I don't know. Are you?" said Levi, not wanting to assume anything. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his coat and looked at Eren from the corner of his eye as they walked side-by-side. Neither of them acknowledged that this was not the way to Eren's apartment.

Eren opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He looked at the ground and pulled his coat on tighter.

Levi stopped walking.

"All right, what's wrong?" he said. Eren stopped in his tracks and looked back at him, blinking.

"What do you mean?" said Eren.

"Why the hell are you sad?"

Eren looked surprised.

"Did you actually care?" he said, genuinely curious and not meaning to imply that Levi was cold-hearted, but the question still stung anway.

Levi sighed. "You're a sad 19-year-old and I'm a teacher—even if I'm not _your _teacher, I've been conditioned to care."

Still looking at him with surprise, Eren said, "You really want to hear about my pathetic white boy issues?"

Levi let out a short, bitter laugh and resumed walking.

"Eren, I am the king of pathetic white boy issues."

—

This time, Eren could appreciate Levi's apartment without being rushed out the door half-naked. It was nice and somewhat spacious; Eren's eyes immediately went to the bookshelf in the living room, and he wondered what kinds of books Levi liked to read. He really didn't know much about him, Eren realized.

"You can sit down on the couch," said Levi as he took off his coat and put away his bleach; fixing that wine stain would have to wait.

Eren was still slightly dizzy from the alcohol, although he was sobering up now. He walked over and sat down, almost stumbling. Levi eyed him with concern: Eren really did not take alcohol well. He noted that for future reference.

Levi sat down on a seat near the couch, and Eren felt like the man was a therapist, ready to listen to the patient. He felt self-conscious and unsure—was he supposed to tell Levi what was bothering him? It was why he came here, after all; Levi asked, Levi invited. He looked bored and apathetic all the time, but here he was, actually concerned about Eren.

Eren felt the sudden urge to cry. (Maybe it was the alcohol, but maybe not.)

So he opened his mouth and threw away his apprehension and caution, because why bother to be guarded when someone actually cared?

He wasn't sure how to start or what to say, but eventually he found the words "My father is an absolute piece of shit" coming out of his mouth, and things spiraled from there.

In an hour Levi learned a few crucial things about Eren's life story: his father had left him and his sister (for reasons Eren had yet to explain) when they were young, leaving his mother to take care of them. They had been quite poor, and Eren's mother died when he was 13, leaving him and his sister in the care of a distant relative.

"It's not even that I'm mad about him leaving us," said Eren. "Well, I _am _mad about that, but he left, and it was just me and Mikasa and our mom. Why couldn't he just stay away?"

Eren explained the way Grisha—his father—sometimes popped in and out of their lives whenever he pleased, although he was gone most of the time. Lately, though, he had been trying to contact Eren and re-establish their relationship.

"He called me up tonight and I was going to hang up, but then he started talking about my mother," Eren said. His hands were shaking with anger now, and his breath was unsteady. "Where the fuck does he get off talking about my mother? He has no fucking right."

He covered his eyes with his hand, frustration getting the better of him. Levi wondered briefly if he was crying, because his voice sounded so wrecked when the next words came out of his mouth:

"Why can't he just leave me alone?"

At this, Levi felt as broken as Eren sounded; he felt his gut twisted in remorse as he looked down at this boy, who was young and lively but so sad.

"Am I supposed to make up with him? Like they do in movies and books? Is that what my mother would've wanted?" he asked, and Levi was certain that he was crying now.

Had Levi looked like that when he was 19? Had he been this sad and bitter?

_More_, he thought. Eren was better than he had been—smarter, more honest.

"You don't have to," said Levi, speaking without thinking. "You don't have to do anything."

"I just—I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to see him, I don't want to know him. Is that so wrong?" said Eren, looking at Levi desperately for an answer. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Levi said quietly. "That's okay."

Eren looked almost relieved at this statement, and Levi wondered how long Eren had been waiting to hear those words. He dried his tears and sniffed, calmer now.

"Sorry," said Eren. "I'm a fucking crybaby sometimes."

"I can tell," said Levi, and he immediately regretted his words, although Eren just started laughing. There was a nice ring to his laugh, Levi thought, one that filled the silence nicely.

_Fuck me_, he thought. He shouldn't have been admiring the laughs of a weepy and stupidly adorable teenager with a best-seller and daddy issues (and maybe a slight drinking problem), but here he was. _Hanji, you bastard._

"You get talkative at night—or early morning, I guess," said Eren.

"I'm always talkative," said Levi.

"I'm beginning to see that," said Eren, smiling. _Always with the smiling._

They sat in comfortable silence after that, Eren laying back on the couch and looking rather serene. He was no longer shaking with anger or crying, and this relieved Levi. Eren reminded him a bit too much of himself when he was a teenager.

They turned their heads to the window when sunlight began filtering through, dimly lighting the room as the sun began the rise.

"What time is it?" Eren asked. He pulled out his phone. "It's half past 6:00. Wow."

Levi took this as Eren's segue into leaving, so he got up and prepared to lead him out the door.

"You want some breakfast?" Eren asked as he lazily ran his finger through his hair, looking as if he had just woken up and not like he had just cried and spilled his guts for the past hour and a half. "I have all the stuff I bought at the store."

He asked this so casually, and Levi wondered if Eren had any sense of context or awareness of his surroundings.

Then again, Levi did invite him back to his apartment to talk about his problems. Breakfast seemed more casual—but so casual it was intimate. He had breakfast with Hanji and Erwin, and occasionally Petra and Oluo, but never strangers, and not in his own home.

He was prepared to say no, because that was the reasonable thing to do. That was the normal thing to do. It's what he would say in any other situation, because he had no interest in making small talk with strangers over breakfast.

"Sure," said Levi indifferently.

He blamed his answer on the fact that his fridge was almost empty and he didn't feel like going out for breakfast. He blamed it on the fact that maybe Eren was asking because he needed to be around someone still.

He began to wonder when his self-control had gotten so weak, and, more importantly, why.

Eren got up and walked into his kitchen, acting so familiar with it as if he hadn't only been here once before. He looked around for more ingredients and cooking utensils. The rattling and clamoring among the silence echoed in Levi's ears.

"Where do you keep your knives?" he shouted from the kitchen as Levi still sat in his living room.

"Second drawer to the left," he answered, getting up to join Eren in the kitchen.

Eren began working, looking perfectly content, while Levi stood against the counter. He pulled out his phone and began to text Hanji, knowing he'd regret it later when she made a fuss of it.

**—LEVI:** Eren Yeager is making breakfast for me in my apartment.

Eren began taking out the ingredients from his grocery bag. He asked Levi if he had a whisk, and Levi said it was in the cabinet right above him. Eren reached up to open it and grab the whisk, his shirt riding up so that Levi could see a few inches of his hard, tan back. The curve of his spine dipped inward, and Levi followed it with his eyes.

**—HANJI:** Hahahaha, YOU'RE FUCKED.


End file.
